Page 80 of Fated to the Hunters
Mateo rolled his eyes, but didn’t seem too bothered. “We all live here so we all help out.”
“What would you like me to take care of?” she asked, wanting to pull her own weight.
“Princesses don’t get their hands dirty.”
“Ezra is right,” Mateo said, handing over her lunch.
“But I would like to contribute.”
“If it’s important to you, you can help where you feel comfortable.
Scarlett slipped off the counter and followed Mateo to the couch. “Can I train with you too?”
“We would love that very much.”
Ezra seemed to agree, staring in the direction of the TV with dreamy eyes.
“I’m not very good though.”
“Everyone starts somewhere,” Mateo softly soothed. “One step at a time. Is there anything in particular that you would like to learn?” He must have seen her struggling to come up with a response because he added, “Maybe you want to improve your strength or endurance. We can also work more on what your brother has been teaching you.”
“It all sounds good.”
“We can start tomorrow if you like. It gives me time to think about what might work best for you.”
Scarlett agreed and dug into her lunch. When she was finished, Mateo took her plate and refilled her lemonade. “Are there other things you would like to do? Any hobbies or places you want to visit?”
“Can I get a driver’s license?”
“Of course. Once you feel ready, we can arrange for you to take your test. I think there are programs for you to study for the theoretical part too.” Mateo disappeared into the office by the front door and then returned with a laptop. He sat down next to her, opened a web page, and handed it over. “Here. I think it has lessons and then lets you take quizzes similar to the official one.”
Mateo spent the next hour with her going through everything, then set her up with a bowl of fruit when she was ready to study alone. Ezra, bored, disappeared shortly after Mateo had handed her the laptop.
The simple act of studying for her driver’s test was more freeing than Scarlett had ever expected. This was her taking the first steps into independence.
She worked until Mateo called her from the office. Stretching out her sore muscles, she set the laptop aside. She found him sitting behind the desk, encouraging her to come around.
When she did, he pulled her into his lap and stamped a kiss to her cheek. “I have opened a bank account in your name that only you will have access to. Once you have your license, you’ll be added to our insurance.”
Scarlett was speechless. She hadn’t thought of anything like a bank account or car insurance.
“We usually split our earnings three ways, but now we’ll split it into four. You can do whatever you like with the money, but we tend to use a lot of cash since it’s less likely to be traced.”
“You don’t have to. I don’t mind finding a job.”
“If you want to work, you should do it because you want to, not because you have to for money. But it does bring me tosomething else I wanted to talk to you about. You said you started a few courses, right? Would you still like to pursue it?”
Scarlett shrugged. “I guess I could start up my business courses again.”
“I thought you would have liked to do something creative. You said you enjoy drawing.”
Scarlett had considered it, but dismissed the thought quickly. She’d thought that a different major would make it more likely to please her father. “I’ve never looked into it.”
“Because of your father?”
Scarlett nodded.
“Think about it; you’ve got time. Maybe you’ll find something that interests you.”
